Chapter: 2
A man with his hood pulled low stepped down from his horse and entered the front gate of the monastery.
Watching him from a window, Anna hurriedly rushed down from the second floor and slipped into the room right beside the entrance.
Before long, she heard the relaxed footsteps of the monastery’s head through the door.
It seemed the head already knew the man was coming and had come out to greet him.
Squatting down, Anna peered through the keyhole, watching the head of the monastery and the man walking down the corridor.
“I’ve been expecting you. Please, this way.”
It was the most polite tone she had ever heard from him.
Seeing how respectfully he was acting, the man was clearly a noble.
The head of the monastery and the hooded man headed straight for the reception room. Watching them go, Anna slowly slid down with her back against the door.
“What do I do…?”
Maybe he really was here out of goodwill to take the child somewhere safe… but what if he wasn’t? How was she supposed to stop him?
Anna carefully slipped out and peeked around near the reception room.
“Anna, what are you doing here?”
“Ah—Sister Vanessa.”
As Anna was anxiously leaning her head against the wall, she ran into Sister Vanessa.
Sister Vanessa was carrying a tray with teacups and tea leaves—clearly prepared to serve the noble guest.
Tea leaves and a fancy teacup like that… something they never used normally.
Alarms went off inside Anna’s head.
“S–Sister! I… I can take it in for you!”
“You? It’s alright, dear.”
“You look really tired today. Let me do it! Haha!”
With a strained laugh, Anna took the tray from Sister Vanessa.
Seeing how clumsily Anna was acting, one of Sister Vanessa’s eyebrows lifted suspiciously.
“Anna, as you probably guessed, the guest in the reception room is a noble. Behave properly, and you absolutely mustn’t make a mistake. Understand?”
“Of course, Sister. I’ll do great.”
Anna nodded confidently.
There was a reason Sister Vanessa nagged like this.
If they angered a noble, everyone in the monastery could end up on the streets by tomorrow. They had to be careful.
After finally sending the worried Sister Vanessa away, Anna began walking carefully with the tray.
She’d come this far determined to do whatever it took, but standing at the door, she suddenly felt nervous.
She needed to go in naturally… and first figure out what kind of person he was.
If he turned out to be some old perverted noble, then…
Anna steadied her breathing and knocked.
Knock, knock.
“Headmaster, it’s Anna. I’ve brought tea.”
“Oh, Anna. I was just about to call for you. Come in.”
When she opened the door, she saw the head of the monastery and the mysterious man sitting across from each other.
Even indoors, he hadn’t taken off his hood. He clearly didn’t want to reveal his identity.
His posture was perfectly straight, and his hands looked quite rough.
Did he wield a sword? He didn’t seem like some idle noble who did nothing at home.
As Anna set down the teacups, she stole a glance at the man.
She wanted to see his face, but his hood was pulled so low that she couldn’t.
“Thank you. You’re… Anna, correct?”
He spoke in a low voice. Younger than she expected.
Hearing her name suddenly made Anna flinch.
She almost dropped the teacup in her hand.
Seeing this, the head of the monastery took the cup from her.
“He said he wanted to speak with you privately, Anna.”
“Me? Why…?”
As Anna awkwardly lifted the tray again, she felt the man’s gaze on her.
He was only looking, but her whole body broke out in chills.
Anna instinctively took a step back.
“Headmaster, I’d like to speak with Miss Anna alone. Could you give us a moment?”
“Ah, of course. Anna, I’ll be back shortly.”
Despite Anna’s trembling eyes, the head simply stood up and left the room.
Anna stared only at the door that closed behind him, then finally sat facing the man, head lowered.
He didn’t seem to care at all. He simply lifted the teacup, smelled it, and took a sip.
“Nice aroma. You wouldn’t expect to find tea like this in a countryside place.”
“Why… did you want to see me?”
“Ah. Right.”
His tone had become noticeably arrogant now that the head was gone, making Anna tense.
Who was he? Was he planning to adopt her?
It wasn’t impossible.
Anna wasn’t yet an adult, so adoption was possible.
But why would someone take her when she was already so close to adulthood?
The man set the cup down and slowly removed his hood.
And the face he’d been hiding finally appeared.
Pitch-black hair. Skin so pale it looked almost white. Mysteriously shining gray eyes.
Anna recognized that face.
Her body moved before she even realized it.
Crash!
The moment she recognized him, Anna grabbed a teacup and smashed it. She had no time to worry about breaking one of the monastery’s few precious cups.
Ignoring the hot tea splashing everywhere, she clutched a sharp shard and held it to the man’s neck.
“Theodore Belvat! How dare you—!”
Theodore smirked.
“Seria Ventus Argenta, princess of the fallen Argenta kingdom. Correct?”
She had never once forgotten.
That sight of him leisurely riding out through the half-collapsed castle gate.
Those emotionless eyes.
The murderous aura on Theodore’s face had burned itself deeply into thirteen-year-old Seria’s mind… and still remained vividly even six years later.
“I’ll kill you.”
“Well now… that’s quite the intense welcome.”
Red blood trickled from where the shard touched his skin.
Even as blood ran down his neck, Theodore didn’t even blink. Instead, he grabbed Seria’s hand and guided the shard toward the side of his neck.
“If you want a clean kill, here. Stab deep.”
“You bastard—!”
“But that won’t be easy for you like this.”
Theodore tightened his grip and forced her to drop the shard.
Seria quickly tried to grab another piece from the table, but he moved faster.
He pinned both her arms and drove her back against the wall.
“I hate pointless pain that doesn’t even kill properly.”
He was still smiling faintly as he said it.
Seria struggled, but his strength was overwhelming. She couldn’t move at all.
Just how many Argenta people had died at these hands?
Rage flared in Seria’s eyes.
At that moment, the air around them began to tremble.
Even though the windows were tightly shut, Theodore’s hair fluttered.
The wind grew stronger and stronger, scattering papers off the monastery head’s desk.
Theodore’s lips parted, intrigued.
“So it’s true… some Argenta can control wind. I never thought I’d see it myself.”
“It’ll be the first and last time you do.”
Seria glared fiercely.
The wind was growing violent, turning the room into chaos. Furniture rattled as if they might tip over. Theodore’s expression shifted.
“Why don’t you stop? If this gets noticed, you won’t get away unharmed either.”
“If I can drag you to hell with me, who cares.”
“…”
Looking troubled, Theodore released her arms and stepped back.
Then he simply raised his hands slightly.
“You’re misunderstanding something. I didn’t come here to kill you.”
“And you think I’ll believe that?”
“I came to make a deal—with something you want most.”
“Don’t play stupid games with me.”
The swirling wind centered around Seria began spiraling violently.
The table shook, then finally couldn’t withstand the gale and crashed into a corner.
If the wind got any stronger, the windows would break.
There were too many eyes here. That would be dangerous.
Theodore exhaled slowly.
“It’s not a trick. Serion Kale Argenta— that’s your brother’s name, right?”
Seria’s brow twitched.
How dare he say that name?
She bit her lip and the wind began spinning even faster.
“He’s alive.”
“…What?”
“The brother you believed dead—he’s alive.”
The wind, which looked ready to swallow Theodore whole, suddenly stilled.
Her brother… alive…?
